An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares, Volumes 1 & 2
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Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares, Volumes 1 & 2 Edited by S. T. Joshi Greenwood Press ICONS OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL ICONS OF HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL An Encyclopedia of Our Worst Nightmares VOLUME 1 Edited by S. T. Joshi Greenwood Icons GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Icons of horror and the supernatural : an encyclopedia of our worst nightmares / edited by S.T. Joshi. p. cm.—(Greenwood icons) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-33780-2 (set : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-313-33781-0 (vol 1 : alk. paper)— ISBN 0-313-33782-9 (vol 2 : alk. paper) 1. Horror tales—History and criticism. 2. Supernatural in literature. 3. Horror films— History and criticism. 4. Supernatural in motion pictures. I. Joshi, S. T., 1958- PN56.H6I26 2007 809'.9164—dc22 2006031212 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright # 2007 by S. T. Joshi All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006031212 ISBN: 0-313-33780-2 (set) 0-313-33781-0 (vol. 1) 0-313-33782-9 (vol. 2) First published in 2007 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10987654321 Contents List of Photos vii Preface ix Volume 1 The Alien, Donald R. Burleson 1 The Angel and the Demon, Matt Cardin 31 The Cosmic Horror, Brian Stableford 65 The Cthulhu Mythos, S. T. Joshi 97 The Curse, Alan Warren 129 The Devil, Darrell Schweitzer 161 The Doppelga¨nger, Tony Fonseca 187 The Ghost, Melissa Mia Hall 215 The Ghoul, Scott Connors 243 The Haunted House, Steven J. Mariconda 267 The Immortal, Brian Stableford 307 The Monster, Richard Bleiler 341 The Mummy, Paula Guran 375 Volume 2 The Psychic, Tony Fonseca 409 The Sea Creature, Mike Ashley 441 vi Contents The Serial Killer, Hank Wagner 473 The Siren, Melissa Mia Hall 507 The Small-Town Horror, John Langan 537 The Sorcerer, K. A. Laity 565 The Urban Horror, Rob Latham 591 The Vampire, Margaret L. Carter 619 The Werewolf, Stefan Dziemianowicz 653 The Witch, Bernadette Lynn Bosky 689 The Zombie, June Pulliam 723 General Bibliography 755 Notes on Contributors 761 Index 767 List of Photos The Alien (page 1) is present in this still from Ron Haskin’s 1953 film The War of the Worlds # Paramount/The Kobol Collection. Courtesy of Picturedesk. A still from William Freidkin’s 1973 film The Exorcist turns us to The Angel and the Demon (page 31). Courtesy of Photofest. The Cosmic Horror (page 65) is made vivid with this still from the 1993 film Necronomicon. # Hadida/Davis Film/Yuzna Prods/The Kobol Collec- tion. Courtesy of Picturedesk. For the Cthulhu Mythos (page 97), what better than a reproduction of this June 1936 cover of Astounding Stories, illustrating H. P. Lovecraft’s ‘‘The Shadow out of Time’’ and Peaslee’s encounter with the Great Race. # Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy. The Curse (page 129) is evoked by this poster for Jacques Tourneur’s 1957 film Curse of the Demon. Courtesy of Photofest. The Devil (page 161), is revealed with serial killer Gilles de Rais. Accused of evoking the Devil by sacrificing children, for this and other wickedness he was condemned to death. # Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy. Frederic March (as Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) in Rouben Mamoulian’s 1932 film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde portrays The Doppelga¨nger (page 187). # Paramount Pictures/Photofest. A drawing of Florence Cook conjures The Ghost (page 215). # Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy. What would be more appropriate for The Ghoul (page 243) than this picture of Boris Karloff starring in Hunter T. Hays’ 1933 film The Ghoul. # Gaumont-British/The Kobol Collection. Courtesy of Picturedesk. The Haunted House (page 267) is classically depicted with this still from Robert Wise’s 1963 film The Haunting. # MGM/The Kobol Collection. Courtesy of Picturedesk. viii List of Photos The Immortal (page 307) is imaged here as The Wandering Jew, condemned to journey the earth without rest until Judgment Day for refusing to allow Jesus to rest on his doorstep when bearing the cross. # Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy. The Creature in Jack Arnold’s 1954 film Creature from the Black Lagoon seemed the perfect embodiment for The Monster (page 341). # Uni- versal/Photofest. To unearth The Mummy (page 375), we again turn to Boris Karloff, this time as Imhotep and Ardath Bey in Karl Freund’s 1932 film The Mummy. # Universal Pictures/Photofest. The Psychic (page 409), is called forth by Margaret Wycherly (as Madam Rosalie La Grande) in Tod Browning’s 1929 film The Thirteenth Chair. # MGM/Photofest. A Sea Serpent from Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus by Olaus Mag- nus, published in Rome in 1555, depicts The Sea Creature (page 441). # Visual Arts Library (London)/Alamy. The Serial Killer (page 473) recalls Anthony Hopkins (as Hannibal Lecter) in Jonathan Demme’s 1991 The Silence of the Lambs. Courtesy of Pho- tofest. The Siren (page 507) is appropriately graced by John Waterhouse’s The Siren. # Visual Arts Library (London)/Alamy. To illustrate The Small-Town Horror (page 537) we turned to Christopher Lee starring in Robin Hardy’s 1973 film The Wicker Man. # British Lion/The Kobol Collection. Courtesy of Picturedesk. For The Sorcerer (page 565) we use the frontispiece to Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe. # Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy. A still from Albert and Allen Hughes’ 2001 film From Hell captures The Urban Horror (page 591). Courtesy of Photofest. The Vampire (page 619) pictures Max Schrek (as Count Orlaf) in F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu. Courtesy of Photofest. The Werewolf (page 653) could hardly be imaged by anything other than Lon Chaney Jr. starring in George Waggner’s 1941 film, The Wolf Man. # Universal/The Kobol Collection. Courtesy of Picturedesk. For The Witch (page 689) we have a splendid 1863 woodcut of the Witches from Macbeth. # Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy. The Zombie (page 723) is gruesomely depicted with a still from Lucio Fulci’s 1979 film Zombie Flesh Eaters. # Variety/The Kobol Collection. Courtesy of Picturedesk. Preface Although the genre of supernatural horror can be thought to date to the earliest writings of human civilization, it has gained particular importance and popularity within the last century, and particularly within the last three decades. Such popular writers as Stephen King, Anne Rice, J. K. Rowling (whose works tread the borderline between the supernatural and pure fan- tasy), Peter Straub, Clive Barker, and Neil Gaiman have brought the genre unprecedented attention in the literary world; less popular but perhaps even more accomplished writers such as Ramsey Campbell, Thomas Ligotti, and Caitlin R. Kiernan have elevated the supernatural to the highest levels of literary craftsmanship. The inclusion of H. P. Lovecraft, in many ways the father of twentieth-century supernatural writing, in the prestigious Library of America shows that this field can attain canonical status. Paralleling the growth of supernatural literature is the burgeoning of the supernatural in film, television, comic books, role-playing games, and other media, so that it can truly be said that we live in a haunted age. Icons of Horror and the Supernatural examines twenty-four of the leading icons of supernatural and nonsupernatural fiction, tracing their roots in folk- lore and legend and discussing their prevalence in literature, film, and other media as well as in popular culture and society as a whole. The articles, written by leading authorities in the field, are aimed at a general audience of students and interested readers and written without the use of the technical jargon of literary criticism; but, because of their comprehensiveness, they will be of interest to scholars as well. Because the articles are substantially longer than conventional encyclopedia entries, ranging between 12,000 and 15,000 words, they allow for an exhaustive coverage of their topic, but are nonetheless not as lengthy as full-length books on the subject, which would make them less convenient as introductions to their chosen subjects. The articles, arranged alphabetically, use an eclectic mix of critical approaches—historical, thematic, philosophical/religious—as dictated by the subject matter. Since the super- natural literature has drawn many of its central concepts from ancient religious x Preface and folkloristic beliefs, many of the articles discuss the anthropological roots of these icons in order to contextualize their continuing use in present-day media. But since horror can be manifested in a nonsupernatural manner—such as the icon of the Serial Killer—some articles examine the social and political im- plications of their subjects. Each article concludes with a thorough primary and secondary biblio- graphy, including full information on all works cited in the text and sug- gestions for further reading. These works include not only printed works but also Web sites and other electronic sources. In addition, the articles are augmented by sidebars featuring quotations from important literary works discussed, lists and chronologies that readers may find helpful for an under- standing of the scope and parameters of the subject, and brief discussions of tangential issues related to the subject. It is hoped that Icons of Horror and the Supernatural will be a useful guide to a genre that continues to evolve dynamically and innovatively, if current specimens in literature and other media are any guide, and that continues to elicit the enthusiasm of millions of readers, listeners, and viewers.